The world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier, the Suiso Frontier, departed Victoria (VIC), Australia on January 28, 2022, marking a significant milestone of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Pilot Project. Built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI), the Suiso Frontier enables the safe transport of liquefied hydrogen in large quantities from the Port of Hastings, VIC, to Kobe, Japan.
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The arrival of the Suiso Frontier in Victoria (VIC) last week was heralded as “the genesis of a new global hydrogen supply chain” by Japanese ambassador, Shingo Yamagami. Angus Taylor, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, also stated that “this was a historic day for Japan, Australia, and the global energy industry”.
Coregas Pty Ltd (Coregas), a Wesfarmers Ltd company was contracted in this AU$500 million project, which is backed by the Japanese and Australian governments, providing engineering consultancy, onsite support, and equipment for the gasification plant at Loy Yang in the LaTrobe Valley and the state-of-the-art liquefaction and loading facility at nearby Port of Hastings.
After years of preparation Coregas completed loading of the Suiso Frontier for the first shipment of liquid hydrogen to Japan, said Wodek Jakubik, Innovation Manager at Coregas.
Coal and biomass gasification
For the pilot project, 99.999 percent pure hydrogen has been produced from Latrobe Valley coal and biomass via gasification, trucked to Hastings, cooled to -253 degrees C, and subsequently liquified to less than 800 times its gaseous volume to create highly valuable liquefied hydrogen.
Coregas provided oxygen, nitrogen, helium, and calibration gases to both facilities, the hydrogen compressor for the gasification plant, and transportation services to move both liquefied and gaseous hydrogen while being responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the liquefaction plant on a 24/7 shift basis.
Coregas engineers were also responsible for loading the Suiso Frontier with liquefied hydrogen.
Once connected to the vessel’s 1 250 m3 vacuum-insulated, double-shell-structure liquefied hydrogen storage tanks, the filling was completed by Coregas engineers using an on-site portable delivery vehicle. Great cooperation from all project partners has ensured its success and we wish the Captain and crew of the Suiso Frontier the very best for their return voyage to Japan, said Jakubik whose Coregas team was congratulated by the Suiso Frontier’s Captain on a job well done.
The Australian-Japan HESC partnership is anticipated to create 30 000 full-time jobs across the Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula regions over the life of the project.
The group includes Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Electric Power Development Co. Ltd. (J-Power), Iwatani Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, AGL, and Sumitomo Corporation.
